Tax Returns

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT TAX RETURNS - PAGE 3

PAN-dora's Box: You cannot simply get away without possessing a permanent account number (PAN). With each passing day the importance of possessing PAN is increasing, and there will be an even greater need for this number, as it is set to become the central number for most investment instruments. Diary Dates: Keep a complete record of days when you are in India. This is important because your residential status is determined based upon the number of days you are in the country.

It is that time of the year again, vacation time. It is not just Zenobia Aunty but also a few of my colleagues who are on leave. My 'cubicle' neighbour is off on a sojourn abroad. The only saving grace (for me!), is that the taxes paid by him on his airfare were as high as the maximum marginal rate of tax. Yes, one can run off on a vacation but not from taxes! Or so I hope to think. Last Saturday, I was wondering whether there is trouble brewing anywhere in tax land and my favourite search engine did not let me down.

After doctors, lawyers and engineers, Indian CAs are troubleshooting for Americans now. Shortage of good accountants there is leading to outsourcing of tax returns to India. This year, 3.6 lakh US tax returns were prepared in India. And the numbers are growing. A study by ValueNotes, a Pune-based BPO consultancy firm, released this week predicts the numbers will grow to an estimated 1.6 million returns by 2011. And these are conservative figures. "The potential is much larger ?

With the beginning of a new financial year comes the arduous task of filing your income tax returns of the previous year. For the purpose of income tax, your income comprises of your salary, revenue from house property, business and profession, capital gains from the sale of assets and income from any other source. If your income from all these sources during the course of a financial year exceeds the basic exemption limit applicable to you for that year, then you are required to file your tax returns.

It has been over a month now, well almost. But I still recall the day that I took off from work to file my tax return. The news in my favourite daily newspaper that very day was a big let down. It appeared that the tax department was all set to go on strike on the last day on which one could file a tax return, merely because the government had permitted the friendly neighbourhood post office to accept tax returns. The representatives of the association of the tax officials (well, a section of them)

Here's one more step towards a simpler, easier way to file your tax returns -- virtually a click away. In fact, the Central Board of Direct Taxes recently notified the Furnishing of Return of Income on Internet Scheme, 2004 which enables individuals to now file their return on the Internet just like in the advanced countries. Let's look how it benefits or harms the tax payers. Indeed, all of us have to file our return of income (RoI). For instance, an assessee is required to file his/her RoI for FY ended on March 31, 2004 (AY 2004-2005)

The deadline extension for filing tax returns has come as a great relief to many salaried professionals who were struggling to file their returns online. The income tax department has extended the deadline for filing tax returns by a month to August 31, after the power failure in north India last week coincided with the original deadline of July 31. The CBDT has made it mandatory for individuals earning an annual salary of 10 lakh and above to file their tax returns online from this year, and most individuals are still grappling with the technicalities of tax jargon and the process of filing the returns online.

The due date for filing tax returns for the financial year 2011-12 for most individuals is July 31. As the due date comes closer, everyone will advise you to file tax returns within the due date. Though tax returns can be filed belatedly, before the end of the relevant assessment year (March 31, 2013, for the tax year 2011-12), without any penalty, it would be better to do it by the due date - July 31. "In case there are any taxes payable (after considering TDS , advance taxes and other credits available)

NEW DELHI: The government on Tuesday extended the deadline for e-filing income tax returns to 31, August, 2012 from an earlier date of 31 July, 2012. The extension has been made on consideration of reports of disturbance in general life caused due to failure of power. That e-filing of returns for individuals earning more than Rs 10 lakh, has been made mandatory, is also one of the reasons for the extension. Commenting on the government's decision, Ankur Sharma, CEO, TaxSpanner said that a one month extension is sufficient for taxpayers to e-file their returns.

1 . Tax payers can file income tax returns electronicallly. E-filing is a quick process and can be done anytime from any place. It can be done through the government portal incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in or any of the private tax websites. 2 . The IT department has also appointed intermediaries who provide upload facility for returns through their portals for a fee. However, direct upload on the IT website is free and the service is available 24 hours a day. 3 . The tax payers need to fill up the return form offline in the prescribed excel worksheet format.